7 Compelling Reasons You Want To Be A Published Author On LinkedIn

You’ve been invited to speak at an international business networking event.
No, not literally, but close enough.
Only in this case, your message will stay on after you’ve completed your speech and come off the podium.
And your voice will be heard through the power of your pen.
The pen (icon) on your LinkedIn account (see diagram 1 below), is the power to speak on the world’s largest professional networking platform.
LinkedIn Is A Publisher
Since February 2014, some LinkedIn members have been invited to write long form articles on its publishing platform. They now have a new channel to spread their messages and build their professional brand.
Have you received your invitation to publish on the platform via email yet?
If not, you can check and see if you have the pencil icon in your posting area. If you see it, you are in!

If you don’t see the pencil icon, don’t worry. LinkedIn is planning to roll this out to all members, paid or free, so eventually every LinkedIn member would be able to publish long form articles on their publishing platform.
You may already be posting messages, images and videos on LinkedIn. So why publish long form articles on the platform?
That’s because long form articles published on LinkedIn have:

• long “shelf life” because they remain on the top of your profile page
• they become part of your LinkedIn Portfolio
• they can show up on Google search

The  Power of LinkedIn
There are many reasons to publish on LinkedIn.
As I was about to publish this post, I see Heidi Cohen, Chief Content Office of Heidi Cohen’s Actionable Marketing Guide,  has just released a post on “How To Dominate LinkedIn Publishing”. Her post here will give you solid reasons and lot of facts as to why you too should make use of the platform.
There are 7 reasons why you too would want to be a published author on LinkedIn

1. It Builds Your Portfolio And Elevates Your Professional Authority
What you publish on LinkedIn stays on your profile page as part of your portfolio.
They take center stage and are displayed on an eye-catching area of your profile page right next to the write-up on who you are and what you do.
These posts further accentuate your professional presence.
New contacts get to know your views and thoughts through these articles, giving yet another tool for building your authority.
2. It Is A Reputable Platform With Relevant Professional Audience
Having your own blog site is great, but publishing on the world’s largest professional networking platform means you can reach a large gathering of the right type of audience.
This is as close to appearing on an International Business Show as you can get. And all you need is the mighty pen.

3. Extend Your Reach
When you publish a post, LinkedIn will notify all your connections as well as those whom LinkedIn thinks will be interested in your article.
Members not in your network can now be “introduced” to you via a notification when you publish your posts.
What this means is you don’t need to push your content out to the masses. LinkedIn is distributing it for you to an audience LinkedIn thinks is interested in the topic of your discussion.
New readers can choose to follow you (even though they may not be connected to you) and they will be notified the next time you release a new post. Let LinkedIn promoter your work.
However, your long form content should be useful and relevant or this privilege will be removed from you. Using the platform to shout “I am hiring” or “Come to my workshop” will leave a bad taste. With one click, new readers can unsubscribe from all future notifications from you.

4. You Can Get Featured
LinkedIn may feature your posts based on criteria according tn their algorithm.
Marko Saric shared how his post got featured on LinkedIn. Of course, no one knows the exact criteria used, but Marko’s post provides some good insights into what LinkedIn may be looking for.
You don’t need to be a LinkedIn Influencer to be able to publish your post or to be featured. But you do need to be concerned with creating relevant and meaningful content that adds value to the relevant channels (see diagram below).

5. Grow Your Network
Readers who engage with your content by liking, commenting or sharing will further push your article to their connections. This enables you to reach contacts of your existing network, helping you grow your network.
This can lead to the beginning of new relationships and joint ventures.
6. Your Posts Are Searchable on LinkedIn
On LinkedIn, you can search for posts that have been published. They stay on the platform.
And at the end of each published article, LinkedIn shows the number of posts you’ve already published. This acts as additional incentive for others to check out your earlier articles. The number of views, likes and comments give further social proof.

7. Long-Form Posts Are Searchable off LinkedIn, On Google
Sweet.
Your posts on LinkedIn can appear on Google searches.
In the diagram below, you’ll see one of my LinkedIn posts appearing on a Google search.
In this case, Google serves up the post published on LinkedIn before a similar post on my own domain. Essentially, that means I am getting twice the coverage on a search results page. It also allows others to check out my professional profile on LinkedIn to get a better understanding of who I am.

This is powerful and huge.
LinkedIn is a platform with great potential. When you consistently create content of great value, LinkedIn and Google will work in your favor, increasing your chance of getting new contacts and leads.
These are seven compelling reasons to publish on LinkedIn.
If you would like to have my free eguide on how to optimize your use of LinkedIn, just leave your preferred email here.